Hemedti at IGAD Sudan summit as El Burhan boycotts

Former Sudanese prime minister Abdallah Hamdok and the commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo, attended the 42nd Extraordinary Summit of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Heads of State and Government, which kicked off yesterday afternoon in Entebbe, Uganda. Sudan’s junta leader, and commander-in-chief of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, was notably absent, as were the presidents of Ethiopia and Eritrea.

The IGAD assembly was chaired by Ismail Guelleh, the president of Djibouti, and attended by the presidents of Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Uganda.

On Tuesday, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the government’s decision to boycott the summit and freeze cooperation with IGAD, in protest of the “intrusive” inclusion of Sudan on the agenda “without prior consultation”, and the invitation of Hemedti to the summit.

On his X feed (formerly Twitter), the RSF commander said he was “pleased to participate” in the summit, where he “briefed the heads of state on the causes of the crisis in Sudan and articulated [his] vision of ending the war”.

Hemedti: “During the meeting, I reiterated our sincere desire to achieve security and stability in our country with the aim of alleviating the human suffering endured by our people.”

Hamdok stated on X that he “provided an explanation of the Civil Democratic Forces (Tagaddum) assessment regarding the roots of the Sudanese crisis, and its vision of stopping the devastating war, addressing the effects of the humanitarian catastrophe, and sustainable political solutions that lead to restoring peace, stability, and democratic civil transformation”.

Outcomes

In a communiqué published yesterday, which outlines the outcomes of the 42nd Extraordinary Summit, IGAD notably reiterates its call for a face-to-face meeting between El Burhan and Hemedti, calling upon them to meet “within 14 days”, and an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

The summit also welcomes the formation of a High-Level Panel on Sudan by African Union Commission chairperson, Moussa Faki, and calls upon it to collaborate with IGAD and other stakeholders to facilitate the peace process.

Non-Aligned Movement

Sudanese acting foreign minister, Ali El Sadig, arrived in Uganda on Wednesday to participate in the summit of foreign ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement, which took place on Wednesday, at the periphery of the IGAD Summit.

El Sadig met with his Chadian counterpart Mahamat Annadif in the first high-level meeting between the two countries since relations soured in late 2023, after SAF Deputy Commander Lt Gen Yasir El Atta accused Chad of supporting the RSF.

Also in Uganda, Hemedti met with Annette Weber, the EU special representative for the Horn of Africa, in Kampala, the capital, yesterday.

In a post on X, he said told Weber about his “readiness to stop the war and enter into negotiations”, and asked for humanitarian support for crisis-stricken regions in Sudan.

“During our conversation, I briefed Dr Weber on the reasons behind the war in Sudan, which was initiated by the extremist former regime and its collaborators from within the Sudanese Armed Forces. I stressed that they continue to prolong this conflict in an effort to maintain their illegitimate, de facto government, which was formed by their attempted coup”, he added.